Monday, March 20, 2017

How an Ethiopian Immigrant became Canada's most Esteemed Volunteer and Goodwill Ambassador

When Geza Wordofa, the founder of the Multicultural Association of
Perth-Huron (MAPH), received a letter last year from Governor General
David Johnston informing him he had won a 2016 Sovereign Medal for
Volunteers, he had a hard time believing the news.

Even when he called Johnston’s office to confirm the letter had
indeed been sent to the correct Geza Wordofa, the honour still didn’t
seem real.

In fact, since Wordofa was unable to attend the Governor General’s
Award ceremony last year to receive his medal in person, it wasn’t until
this year’s ceremony on March 9 in London when the reality of this
prestigious honour truly set in (see photo).

“I’m very blessed and I’m enjoying the recognition,” Wordofa said.
“To be a volunteer is not easy, and sometimes very difficult. I’ve been
involved, day-to-day, with newcomers (to Canada). What does it mean to
be a refugee, what does it mean to be a newcomer or an immigrant? It can
be good, but sometimes for them it’s very difficult.”

After Wordofa, an Ethiopian by birth and a former United Nations
goodwill ambassador, emigrated from Russia to Canada to settle down with
his wife Nicole in 2011, he quickly learned first-hand the hardships
immigrants and refugees must go through to start a new life in a
completely foreign country.

Whether it’s finding a job, shopping for groceries, obtaining a
driver’s license or passport, navigating Canadian law, applying for
citizenship, learning to recycle, or even something as seemingly simple
as learning to use various kitchen appliances, adjusting to life in
Canada can take a while. For some new immigrants, that process can be
very confusing and often frustrating.

“When I came here from Russia, from Geneva, there was nothing for me.
I had no job… there was not any service that gave me my paperwork,”
Wordofa said.

Luckily, he had Nicole and the Canadians he met through his work with
the UN to help him settle into his new country and his new home in
Stratford, but for many immigrants and refugees, it’s not that simple.
In September, 2011, only five months after he settled in Stratford,
Wordofa founded MAPH, an organization that helps guide new immigrants
through the resettlement process.

“We have money for them, we have a house, we have a couch, live. It’s
not as simple as that. You give them money, they don’t know how to
spend that money. So we give them guidance (for example) on how to eat
properly, or to give them some advice (for whatever they need),” Wordofa
said.

But without the support and effort put forth by Wordofa’s fellow
volunteers in Stratford and the surrounding community, MAPH would have
never been able to assist the immigrants and refugees in both Perth and
Huron Counties who need that help and guidance most.

Wordofa also had a chance to meet and have his picture taken with
Ontario Lieutenant General Elizabeth Dowdeswell. (Contributed Photo)

“I share this medal with my community and all of the newcomers. When I
met the Governor General, I had no words. I said thank you for my
community in Stratford who gave me this opportunity,” Wordofa said. “…I
want to give back to my community through volunteerism. I want to give
back for the community who helps newcomers. They run around for them,
they give them rides, they take them to the hospital – I have a long
list of people to call who are willing to help out. I love to serve for
my community. I don’t expect anything in return.”

For more than five years, Wordofa has worked five days a week for
MAPH without pay to better the lives of new immigrants and refugees. An
immigrant himself and now a Canadian citizen, Wordofa and other
volunteers like him share a unique perspective with those they help,
allowing them to better understand the issues, both large and small,
that prevent newcomers from living a full life in their new country.

When Wordofa first established MAPH, he was meeting with new
immigrants in a coffee shop in downtown Stratford, but since then,
thanks to a generous donation of space and resources by Loreena
McKennit, MAPH now occupies several rooms in the basement of the
Falstaff Family Centre on Waterloo Street, where volunteers have the
ability to meet with families, provide them a safe and quiet space to
discuss the problems they are dealing with, and determine the next steps
in both solving those problems and making their lives in Canada as
fulfilling as they possibly can be.

On a more personal note, after living for 15 years as an immigrant in
Russia, where people of different skin colours and ethnic backgrounds
are often viewed with suspicion and treated with outright hostility,
Wordofa is thrilled to be living in a country where the government
recognizes his efforts on equal footing with people of all backgrounds,
races and religions. That notion was made abundantly clear to him at the
awards ceremony in London last Thursday, where he had the chance to
meet and speak with both Johnston and Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor,
Elizabeth Dowdeswell, as well as many other dignitaries, politicians and
service medal recipients.

“I’m equal as anybody. When you go in the coffee shop, you are also
the same as anybody – everybody says hi even if they don’t know you,”
Wordofa said. “… I am so lucky. We have to respect this country, we have
to love Canada.”

Even before moving to Canada, Wordofa spent much of his life helping
others, be that working to establish a soup kitchen in Moscow, securing
clean drinking water for the people of Ethiopia, or donating toothpaste
to new immigrants and refugees in Utah. In Canada, along with founding
and working tirelessly for MAPH, Wordofa has also volunteered his time
with non-profit groups such as the Salvation Army and The United Way.

For his lifetime of volunteer work, in the past Wordofa has been
honoured with the Ontario Government’s Newcomer Champion Award, the
Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award and the Top 25 Canadian
Immigrant Award. Now, he can add the 2016 Sovereign Medal for Volunteers
to that list, a medal which he plans on wearing proudly at this year’s
150th Canada Day celebration. (Source: Stratford Beacon Herald)